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Living in Seattle/WA without a car - feasible?

LurkbotLurkbot Registered User regular
edited March 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Here's the deal - I'm tired of Baltimore and the general east coast scene and want to move back to the Seattle area. I'm also kind of getting sick of the expenses of a car and, having lived without one and been happy, have been thinking about selling it.

So when I lived in Redmond before I could walk a lot of places (I lived near the downtown mall/square thingy) and take the bus when needed. Are the buses still good? Is Seattle better than the eastside for those without transport of their own?

While I'm asking about that, I might as well ask: how is the job market looking out there? I've got a lot of customer service and sales experience, is that a good skill set for the area?

Lurkbot on

Posts

  • Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Are you talking about downtown?

    If you can navigate Redmond by bus/foot you for sure can get along in downtown Seattle where the bus coverage is 100 fold what it is in Redmond.

    Captain Vash on
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  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    You should be alright. Seattle's firmly "not bad" as far as public transportation goes.

    It's also pretty good for car sharing.

    admanb on
  • RankenphileRankenphile Passersby were amazed by the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
    edited March 2009
    yeah, it ain't bad

    what part of seattle you talking about?

    Rankenphile on
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  • LurkbotLurkbot Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    what part of seattle you talking about?

    Not sure yet. I'm debating between in the city proper and somewhere on the eastside from Bellevue up to Kirkland. Part of the reason for the move is that I want to get certified in software testing and BCC has a program for that. Traveling out of the city by bus seems like it would take a while, but there are some cheap rooms for rent in Seattle itself.

    Lurkbot on
  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    The 554 runs from downtown to Eastgate (a couple of blocks from BCC) all the time.
    The 555/556 runs from north Seattle to Eastgate, as well.

    http://soundtransit.org/x10364.xml
    http://www.soundtransit.org/x10370.xml

    Living in the city will better than the eastside without a car, mostly because it's easier to find places to live that are closer to grocery stores and such.

    Doc on
  • Seattle ThreadSeattle Thread Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I sold my car 9 years ago when I first moved here and have never needed one since.

    The job market is a little tight these days. Not as bad as other parts of the country, but you can see the squeeze in the classifieds.

    Seattle Thread on
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  • RankenphileRankenphile Passersby were amazed by the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
    edited March 2009
    living on the eastside ain't bad, but it's fucking pricey

    I'm in redmond right now, and we got damned lucky with our place. I wouldn't expect to find an apartment for less than a grand

    Rankenphile on
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  • proXimityproXimity Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    As long as you're in the city proper, the Metro bus system is generally good, and it's not too hard to get around sans car. NE Seattle is the best area to be (north of the ship canal and east of I-5) Not that I'm biased or anything...

    proXimity on
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  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    proXimity wrote: »
    As long as you're in the city proper, the Metro bus system is generally good, and it's not too hard to get around sans car. NE Seattle is the best area to be (north of the ship canal and east of I-5) Not that I'm biased or anything...

    The U District/Ravenna has ridiculously good bus coverage, it's true. I live near Greenlake now and I have to take the 48 if I want to get anywhere besides downtown. It's the longest, and thus the latest, bus line metro runs. :(

    Doc on
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Doc wrote: »

    The U District/Ravenna has ridiculously good bus coverage, it's true. I live near Greenlake now and I have to take the 48 if I want to get anywhere besides downtown. It's the longest, and thus the latest, bus line metro runs. :(
    I can catch the following buses downtown (or back home) from Greenlake (several of these are two blocks from my place, none are more than five or six): 16, 26, 316 (express, gets on the freeway right after picking me up, drops me off in down town, runs during rush hours), 66, 70, 71, 72, and 73. Most of these run every half-hour or so for most of the day. There's also the drunk bus (I can't remember the number; I don't know why :P) that runs at 2:00am and 3:30am.

    As long as you live and work on the same side of the Sound (east or west), it's really not bad.

    Thanatos on
  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Thanatos wrote: »
    I can catch the following buses downtown (or back home) from Greenlake (several of these are two blocks from my place, none are more than five or six): 16, 26, 316 (express, gets on the freeway right after picking me up, drops me off in down town, runs during rush hours), 66, 70, 71, 72, and 73. Most of these run every half-hour or so for most of the day. There's also the drunk bus (I can't remember the number; I don't know why :P) that runs at 2:00am and 3:30am.

    As long as you live and work on the same side of the Sound (east or west), it's really not bad.

    Yeah, I sometimes just ride the bus to work, and I work in Kirkland. It takes about twice as long as driving, but I don't have to deal with 520 traffic.

    Doc on
  • LurkbotLurkbot Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Well hell, it sounds like I can sell my car here and use that money to move and find a place and probably still have a bunch left over until I find a job.

    Thanks for the help all!

    Lurkbot on
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